402 THE HOG. 



find beneath the surface. He feeds, too, on animal sub- 

 stances, as worms and larvae, which he finds under ground, 

 on the eggs of birds, and on the young of animals, which he 

 comes upon in his progress, and even on snakes, which, 

 though venomous, he attacks with impunity. He eats, too, 

 of carrion, but rarely, and perhaps only when pressed by 

 hunger. Like other hoofed animals, he is unfitted to capture 

 animals that secure themselves by flight. He dwells in moist 

 and shady places, which he quits in search of food when the 

 shades of evening fall ; and he employs the night in search 

 of food, grubbing up the ground in long ridges. He is swift 

 of foot, keeping pace for a time with a horse at speed. His 

 common pace is a walk or trot, though, when urged, he passes 

 into the gallop. He readily descends steep places, notwith- 

 standing his bulky form. He bites with prodigious force, 

 and inflicts desperate wounds with his sharp and crooked 

 tusks. He quickly bleeds to death, so that he is not so tena- 

 cious of life as the Bear and some other animals. 



The female carries her young for four months, or sixteen 

 weeks. She produces a litter once in the year, and in much 

 smaller numbers than when in the domestic state. She is 

 rarely seen with the male but in the rutting season, which, in 

 our latitudes, is in the months of December and January. 

 She suckles her young for several months, and retains them 

 for a yet longer time afterwards to protect them. When as- 

 sailed, she defends her offspring with surprising courage, and 

 the young reward her cares by a long attachment. She is 

 often seen to be followed by several families, forming a troop 

 formidable to their assailants, and destructive by their ra- 

 vages to the vineyards and cultivated fields. When the 

 young have acquired sufficient strength to protect themselves 

 from their enemies, they generally assume the solitary habits 

 of the race, and dwell apart in the recesses of the forest. 

 The male is endowed with the singular instinct of seeking to 

 destroy his own young at the birth, as if to prevent too great 



